AUREABUILDKitchen remodeling · Austin, Texas
A kitchen pulls in more trades than any other room, and most of the trouble comes from those trades needing things from each other in the wrong order. The first conversations are about layout, selections and what's behind the walls, before anyone writes a price.
Who this is for: Homeowners planning a kitchen remodel.
First steps
Most of the effort sits in the parts nobody shows off. Demolition exposes the plumbing, wiring and ductwork the new layout has to work around. Cabinets and counters have to land on walls and floors that are rarely as square or level as the drawings assume. Appliances come with their own electrical, gas, venting and clearance needs, and those come from the manufacturer's installation sheet, not from negotiation on site.
The order is more fixed than people expect. Demolition and any rough-in changes come first, then inspections where they apply, then wall and floor repair, then cabinets, then counter templating, and last the final plumbing, electrical and finish work. Move one step and the next trade either waits or damages finished work. The same sequence runs through all of our residential renovation work, compressed here into one room.
Two kitchens of the same size can be very different jobs. Most of the reasons can be found before a price is written. The longer version is in our guide to what drives kitchen remodel cost in Austin.
A gas range moved to an island needs a new gas line and a way to vent through the roof. An appliance model changes a cutout size. A faucet changes the hole count in a counter that has already been cut. A pendant light changes where the ceiling needs blocking. Each is a small choice, and each is expensive to change late.
Settle the layout first, then appliances, then cabinets, then counters, then plumbing and lighting fixtures. Each one constrains the next. Cabinet orders are often the longest wait, so the layout has to be final before they're placed. A decision made in a planning meeting costs a conversation, and the same decision made in the field costs a change order.
Tell us how you actually cook. Daily cooking needs different counter space and ventilation than mostly reheating, and that's worth settling before the range hood is bought.
The usual failures are an allowance for cabinets or counters set too low, so the real selection lands well above the budget; a wall opened up and found to carry load or hide a plumbing stack; old wiring that can't take the new appliance load; and a countertop ordered before the cabinets were set and measured.
The bid is where most of this gets headed off. It should name what's included, what's left out, and the allowance for each selection category, and it should list the conditions nobody can know until demolition. Two kitchen bids can look alike and describe different jobs, which is the subject of comparing renovation bids. If you're weighing the kitchen against something bigger, the whole-home renovation page covers when it makes sense to fold the kitchen into a wider job.
For part of the job the kitchen is out of service, and for how long depends on the scope, lead times and inspections. Most households set up a temporary kitchen somewhere else in the house: a refrigerator, a microwave, a table, and a bathroom or utility sink for washing up. We plan that with you before demolition and talk through which stages are hardest on the household, usually demolition and the days the floors are being done.
Whether a kitchen needs a permit depends on the work. Moving plumbing, electrical or walls raises the question, and swapping cabinets in place may not. The City of Austin permits through Development Services and the incorporated suburbs have their own offices, so the permit office has the final word, not a rule of thumb. Our permit guide explains how to think about it, and how long a remodel takes covers what sets the schedule.
The first visit is a walkthrough of the kitchen and the rooms around it: layout, utility locations, delivery access, how your household uses the space. A rough range follows, labelled as rough, then a proposal with selections, allowances, exclusions and the conditions still unknown. At the end there's a walkthrough against the proposal, a punch list, and the product information a future repair person will want.
Common questions
A price needs layout intent, selections and some idea of what's behind the walls, and a description only gets us part of the way. We can give a rough range and we'll call it rough. The proposal is where the number becomes firm.
Not everything. The items that drive fabrication and lead time have to be settled early: layout, appliances, cabinets and counters. Lighting and hardware can follow, as long as the proposal carries an allowance that matches what you actually plan to buy.
For part of the project. How long depends on the scope, the order of work, lead times and inspections. We plan a temporary setup with you in advance and go through the sequence so you know which stages are hardest on the household.
It happens, especially in older houses. The proposal lists the conditions nobody can know beforehand and says how they're handled. When something turns up, we explain it, lay out the options and what each costs, and you decide before work continues.
That depends on the work. Moving plumbing, electrical or walls raises the question, while replacing cabinets in place may not. Rules vary by city, and the local permit office has the final word. We check during scoping instead of assuming.